Understanding how past disturbances shape present ecosystems - Event Details
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Understanding how past disturbances shape present ecosystems
Location: In-person at Wentworth Hall, Room 1, or online via Zoom at https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/99679339976 (passcode: TCBES)
Speaker:
Natalie Graham, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biology, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
Abstract:
Understanding why we find different types and numbers of species in different places has been a long-standing question for biologists. Many approaches to capturing biodiversity dynamics are limited to studying a few lineages across deep time or many lineages over spatial (and short temporal) scales. Islands provide a natural experiment for examining changes in biodiversity over both extended geological time and present-day perturbations. I collected arthropods across two gradients of spatiotemporal change: the geological age structure of the Hawaiian Islands and elevation gradients on Oʻahu. I generated DNA sequences for the specimens collected -- providing a snapshot of the genetics of the community at the site. We show how molecular species can be separated into endemic and introduced species based on DNA sequence characteristics. Equipped with both the genetic and ecological information of arthropods, I demonstrate how biodiversity changes over geological time and elevation gradients over historical time across various levels of biological organization, including genetic distance, alpha diversity, beta-diversity, and ecological network structure. Together, the results indicate that the relative influence of ecological and evolutionary mechanisms varies over time to shape biodiversity. Initially, processes are acting over the short-term to fill empty space in ecologically open communities. Over longer-time scales, ecological processes give way to evolutionary mechanisms, with diversification of lineages or the splitting of geographic space. This research begins to tease apart the differences between natural and perturbed biological communities, and I make inferences about the consequences of ignoring rapidly changing ecosystems.
For more information, contact: canale@hawaii.edu (808) 932-7571
Tags: Wentworth Hall genetics DNA disturbances ecosystems Natalie Graham TCBES seminar
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